Only on 6 and 7 September – the flags of the Unification at the National Museum of Military History
Only on 6 and 7 September (Saturday and Sunday), on the occasion of the Unification of Bulgaria, the National Museum of Military History will exhibit the original flags whose fate was linked with that remarkable moment 140 years ago. Among them is the flag under whose folds, on 6 September 1885, Major Danail Nikolaev led the troops under his command to the centre of Plovdiv. It is a tricolour flag with an image of a lion, prepared for the Eastern Rumelia Militia, but not used due to the status of the Province. It was this flag that Major Nikolaev’s soldiers kissed before setting off for Plovdiv, and the words upon it, “Unification or Death”, take us back to those heroic days when public and individual life were viewed through the perspective of national ideals. Two more flags – of the Marasha Detachment and the Chirpan “Iskra” Detachment, direct participants in the events – will remind us of the public enthusiasm in favour of the unification cause.
Only on Unification Day, the guests of the NMMH will be able to see the personal standard (banner) of Alexander I, with which he made his stately arrival in Plovdiv on 9 September 1885, as Prince of Northern and Southern Bulgaria. The serious efforts and actions of the Bulgarian Army in defence of the Unification are represented by the flags of the regiments of the Principality of Bulgaria – 1st, 6th, 8th Infantry Regiments and 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which were urgently concentrated near the Turkish border to counter any possible military response by the Ottoman Empire. Part of the exhibition space will also be taken up by an animation illustrating the role of the army in the Unification Act.
In addition to these iconic exhibits, which the Museum displays on rare occasions, such as important anniversaries, in its Permanent Exhibition visitors will have the opportunity to see uniforms and gear of soldiers from the Bulgarian Troops and the Eastern Rumelia Militia, as well as personal effects of participants in the Unification. Among them are weaponry, decorations, and personal belongings of Prince Alexander I; shashka, officer’s pattern, of Major Danail Nikolaev; decorations, kalpak (cap), and charter of Major Raycho Nikolov; decorations of Captain Kosta Panitsa; weaponry and clothing of participants in the Golyamo Konare, Chirpan, and Stanimaka Detachments, and many other exhibits which recount stories through different perspectives about the events of 140 years ago. Four animations in connection with the Unification and its defence enrich the historical narrative. They present the events in Plovdiv in 1885, the shuttle diplomacy undertaken by the Bulgarian authorities in pursuit of international recognition of the Unification, and the main theatres of military action in the Serbo–Bulgarian War.
On 6 September (Saturday), the National Museum of Military History will be working with its regular admission fees and opening hours, with last admission at 5 p.m.
